1. Micro-Patterned SiO2/TiO2 Films through Simple Photo and Chemical Reactions
Xiaoling Ding*, David Fries, David Edwards, Weidong Wang
Center for Ocean Technology, College of Marine Science,
University of South Florida, 140 7th
Ave. S, St Petersburg, FL 33701,
*: Corresponding author: Phone: 727-553-1236, e-mail: xding@marine.usf.edu
Abstract
A simple, non-etching related method has been developed to make patterned SiO2 films
over TiO2 (SiO2/TiO2) under room temperature and ambient atmosphere in a short period
(typically, less than 2 h) through convenient photo and chemical reactions. The patterned TiO2
film was fabricated through photo-irradiation of a photosensitive organic-titanium film using a
mask. SiO2 particles were generated from silicate solution by adjusting pH values to 10 to 8 with
HCl. The pre-deposited TiO2 film has a strong attraction on SiO2 particles, leading to the instant
formation of SiO2 film over the TiO2 film. The silica films were also amino-silylated with 3-
aminopropyltriethoxysilane toward applications such as patternable, location-specific silica-
based separation and purification.
Key Words: silicon dioxide, micro-patterning, titanium dioxide, amino-silylating.
Introduction
Silica gel is a core substrate for creating functionalized surfaces for separation sciences.
Additionally, silica enables the chemical and thermal stabilities of the ligands attached to its
surface1,2
. The active silanol groups on silica gel surface can react with organosilyl groups which
contain the desired functional groups. This creates a variety of inorganic–organic hybrid surfaces
which exhibit practical advantages such as structural stability, swelling behavior, thermal
properties, accessibility of reactive centers, and insolubility in water and organic solvents2
. These
hybrids have been widely applied in heterogeneous catalysis, metal ion and pesticide
preconcentration, ion exchange, separation of metal ions, stationary phases for chromatography,
biotechnology, and in controlled release pesticides2
.
Silica is also a very important dielectric material, which has been widely used as a gate
insulator and an interlayer insulator between metal wiring layers of semi-conductor or thin-film
transistor displays, etc3
. Furthermore, with the embedment of metal nano-particles (e.g., Ag, Cu),
the potential applications of SiO2 as an insulator in non-linear optical systems are attractive for
future ultrafast networks and circuits ahead of semiconductor devices4
.
Recent technological advances in silicon processing allow small-scale fabrication of
high-speed devices. As the size of the Si device is scaled down, the device performance is
limited by the fabrication processes of the gate structure. Therefore, a totally low-temperature
process for the gate dielectric formation and post-gate process with no degradation of the fine
doping profile or the gate stack is important for Si device fabrication5
. However, current methods
to synthesize/generate SiO2 thin films have the disadvantages of time consumption and the need
of complex instrumentaion5
, catalysts3
and harsh working conditions such as high temperature,
Ar environments6
and vacuum5
. In addition, some of the approaches can cause oxygen-originated
damage with the usage of plasma3, 5
. In this study, we successfully developed a quick and simple
method to make patterned SiO2/TiO2 thin films through convenient photo and chemical reactions
under ambient atmosphere and room temperature. This low-temperature and non-oxygen based
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2. approach enables a non-damaging process for fabrication of micro-structures, and may reduce or
eliminate the amount of change in the doping profile and defect density5
. In addition, surface
modification of silica films were also achieved in this study with potential applications in protein
immobilization and purification.
Methodology
Ti-alkoxide derived from the reaction of titanium tert-butoxide and benzoylacetone and
its hydrolysate are UV-sensitive to generate TiO2
7
. The patterned TiO2 film was fabricated
through photo-irradiation of a photosensitive organic-titanium film using a mask. SiO2 particles
were generated from silicate solution by adjusting pH values. When pH is from higher down to
about 10, the precipitation of amorphous silica is dramatic with a sharp decreasing slope in
dissolved concentration. The precipitation is slowed from pH 10 to 8 and then no further
precipitation below pH 88
. Freshly precipitated silica surface contains large amount of hydroxyl
group, which can rapidly react with the hydroxyl group on the surface of hydrated titanium
dioxide films (TiO2.nH2O). This reaction was considered as approximated first-order reaction9
.
Silica crystals were formed on the surface of pre-patterned TiO2 film through
attraction/adsorption.
Surface modification of silica for attracting proteins, DNA and drug molecules can be
achieved by derivatizing and coating the surface with a silane unit containing an amino group:
Silica film 3-Aminopropyltriethoxysilane Amino-silylated surface
Protocols
1. Photo-Sensitive Ti-Containing Gel Films
• Prepare an org-Ti solution which contains 10 mg of benzoylacetone, 20 µL of Ti(O-nBu)4, 1
mL of CH3Cl and 100 µL of propylene glycol for enhancing viscosity and decreasing
evaporation rate of the solution.
• Dispensing org-Ti solution on the top of desired surfaces, spin at 1,500 rpm for 30 s, then
soft bake the substrate on a hot plate (120°C) for 10 s.
• Cover the org-Ti film with a mask and expose it to UV (Mercury-Xenon lamp, 3500
mW/cm2
at 365 nm) for 8 min. Then, rinse it with ethanol or acetone to remove the Ti-
solution residue followed by DI water rinsing.
2. Formation of the Films of SiO2 Over TiO2 (SiO2/TiO2)
• Prepare 5% sodium silicate solution by diluting a concentrated sodium silicate solution
(containing 14% NaOH and 27% SiO2, from Sigma) with DI water.
• Prepare 4N hydrogen chloride acid.
• Add 4N HCl drop by drop to the 5% sodium silicate solution to adjust the pH to 8 – 10.
• Immerse the substrate with pre-patterned TiO2 film into the silicate solution under continuous
shake for 30 min.
• Rinse the substrate thoroughly with DI water.
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3. • Rinse the substrate with ethanol to replace pore water of the silica film with ethanol.
3. Surface Modification of Silica Films
• Rinse the SiO2/TiO2 films with acetone.
• Prepare a 2% solution of 3-Aminopropyltriethoxysilane in acetone.
• Immerse the surface in the diluted reagent for 30 s.
• Rinse the surface with acetone.
• Allow surface to air-dry.
Results
The SiO2/TiO2 films were examined using a field emission scanning electron microscope
(SEM). SEM images of the fabricated films are presented in Figure 1. TiO2 particles sized about
10 to 20 nm (previous work) can be homogenously deposited on the substrate surfaces such as
copper (Figure 1A) and glass (not showing here). The uneven surface (Figure 1A) is due to
rough background of the copper substrate. Silica crystals were grown on the pre-deposited TiO2
film (Figure 2B), and the silica surface was silylated (Figure 1C). The depositions of SiO2 onto
TiO2 film and amino-silane onto SiO2/TiO2 film were also indicted by the SEM–energy
dispersive spectrometer (EDS) technique (Figure 2). Small carbon peak in the TiO2 film showing
in Figure 2A is likely from the residues of the reaction precursors, which can be removed by
heating the film at high temperature (~350 C) after rinsing with organic solvents. In this study,
TiO2 films were not heat-baked since hydrated titanium dioxide is desired to react with hydrated
silica. However, such organic contaminates were further removed after the deposition of silica
film (Figure 2B) which required ethanol rising for removing pore water inside the silica
gel/crystals and acetone wash for amino-silylating the silica surface. The significant increase in
C peak showing in Figure 2C indicated the deposition of organic material.
In this study, precipitated silica is formed in aqueous medium as loose aggregates, in
which the pores are filled with water. Since the silica gel consists of a 3-D network of particles
or short chains of particles bonded rigidly together and since the silica particles themselves are
inelastic, as the gel dries and structure shrinks owing to the surface tension of pore water, the
network must fold or crumple, and this shrinkage is irreversible10
. Figure 3 shows a cracked
SiO2/TiO2 film which was directly dried in air without any treatment. To avoid such shrinkage,
the liquid phase inside the silica gel should be replaced by a gaseous phase10
. In this study,
alcohol was used to replace pore water because it has a low surface tension and evaporates at
ordinary temperature10
. Such alcohol-treated gel structurally resembles the original silica films10
.
Compared Figures 1B with 3, apparently, the silica film did not crack, and the following organic
deposition further smoothed the surface (Figure 1C).
Micro-patterned SiO2/TiO2 film was also successfully achieved in this study (Figure
1D) under room temperature and ambient atmosphere in a short period. This fabrication process
provides a simple approach for applying silica as a dielectric material in semiconductor devices
in micro-electro-mechanical system designs and development and as a substrate material for
creating patterned, functionalized surfaces. Further developments for these applications are being
pursued.
Acknowledgement
3

4. The authors wish to thank the US Army Space and Missile Defense Command for
supporting this research under contract number DASG60-00-C-0089.
4

5. Figure 1. SEM images of the micro-patterned films of A) TiO2; B) SiO2/TiO2; C) amino-
silysated SiO2/TiO2; and D) TiO2 on copper.
5
A) B)
C) D)

6. Figure 2. Elemental analysis of the films of A) TiO2; B) SiO2/TiO2; C) amino-silylated
SiO2/TiO2 on copper substrate under SEM-EDS.
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A)
B)
C)

7. Figure 3. SEM image of a SiO2/TiO2 film dried in air.
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40 µm

8. References
1. Bermudez, V. Z., Carlos, L. D., Alcacer, L., 1999. Chem. Mater. 11, 569.
2. Prado, A. G. S., Miranda, B. S., Dias, J. A., 2004. Colloids and Surface A: Physicochem.
Eng. Aspects, 242, 137.
3. Saito, K., Uchiyama, Y., and Abe, K., 2003. Thin Solid Films, 430, 287.
4. Takeda, Y., Kishimoto, N., 2003. Nucl. Instr. Meth. B, 206, 620.
5. Nishizawa, J., Kurabayashi, T., Kanamoto, K., Yoshida, T., and Oizumi, T., 2003. Mater.
Sci. Semicond. Process, 6, 363.
6. He, L.-N. and Xu, J., 2003. Vacuum, 68, 197.
7. Tohge, N., Zhao, G., Chiba, F., 1999. Thin Solid Films, 351, 85.
8. Dove, P. M. and Rimstidt, J. D., 1994. In: Heaney, P. J., Prewitt, C. T. and Gibbs, G. V.
(Eds.), Silica – Physical Behavior, Geochemistry and Materials Applications. Reviews in
Mineralogy, 29. Mineralogical Society of America. 259.
9. Jiang, X., Wang, T., and Wang Y., 2004. Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochem. Eng.
Aspects, 234, 9.
10. Iler, R. K., 1979. In: The Chemistry of Silica, solubility, Polymerization, Colloid and
Surface Properties, and biochemistry. John Wiley & Sons.
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9. List of Figures
Figure 1. SEM images of the micor-patterned films of A) TiO2; B) SiO2/TiO2; C) amino-
silysated SiO2/TiO2; and D) TiO2 on copper.
Figure 2. Elemental analysis of the films of A) TiO2; B) SiO2/TiO2; C) amino-silylated
SiO2/TiO2 on copper substrate under SEM-EDS.
Figure 3. SEM image of a SiO2/TiO2 film dried in air.
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10. List of Figures
Figure 1. SEM images of the micor-patterned films of A) TiO2; B) SiO2/TiO2; C) amino-
silysated SiO2/TiO2; and D) TiO2 on copper.
Figure 2. Elemental analysis of the films of A) TiO2; B) SiO2/TiO2; C) amino-silylated
SiO2/TiO2 on copper substrate under SEM-EDS.
Figure 3. SEM image of a SiO2/TiO2 film dried in air.
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